Guangdong FTZ issues plan to deepen reform and opening up

On May 24th, state council published a plan to further deepen the reform and opening-up of the Guangdong pilot free trade zone (FTZ) to meet the most advanced international standards and enhance cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao.

More new measures to be launched to boost development

A world-class “single-window” system for international trade will be set up and connected with national-level single-window regulations. The single-window system will also be introduced to the service industry, including technology exchange, outsourcing and maintenance.

An account management system will be set up in the FTZ to encourage equity and business partnerships between qualified domestic and foreign financial institutions. Furthermore, it will pilot cross-border payment for the service industry in professional services, and launch related tax policies.

Supervision on cross-border capital flow will be improved to crack down on money laundering, tax evasion and financing of terrorist organisations.

Background:

FTZs are a way for the government to test new policies, to explore new development models and better integrate the economy with international practices.

China established its first FTZ in Shanghai in 2013. The total number of FTZs was brought to 11 after seven new FTZs were launched in April last year.

April 21st, 2018 marks the three-year anniversary of the establishment of the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone (GD FTZ). By December, 2017, the zone had seen the opening of 210,000 newly-approved enterprises and a significant amount of innovation in the facilitation of investment, trade and financial reform.

FTZ fever has turned the attention of overseas investors to Guangdong, the amount of foreign-invested enterprises has reached 9,639; contributing an actual inflow of foreign investment of 12.85 billion USD.